Botox Addiction: Is it real? How addictive? Treatment options
Published:
Mar 14, 2025
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10:35 a.m.
ET
Key Points
Botox is a purified neurotoxin that paralyzes facial muscles to reduce wrinkles
Both men and women can become addicted to botox
Social media and societal pressure can impact someone's botox use
Botox addiction may require professional support from a licensed therapist
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Society's obsession with the newest beauty routines and desire to look younger has led to some women and men exploring desperate methods with unnecessary medical procedures. Botox is now as common as coloring one's hair, but with a much higher cost, both fiscally and potentially to physical and mental health.
Consumers are being told that botox is a preventative measure for signs of aging, with the largest users of botox being between the ages of 22 and 40. In an article in The Guardian, one dermatologist told gender studies professor Dana Berkowitz that they consider not getting botox as a preventative aging method as negligent. The question of whether or not botox is addictive is up for debate among professionals, but the potential mental health impacts of botox can lead some individuals’ propensity for appearance-altering measures to become compulsive.
Can you really get addicted to Botox? Is Botox addiction real?
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons found that between 2016 and 2022, the number of individuals who got fillers increased from 2 million to 5 million. Many of those who regularly get botox started out with the same thoughts regarding the purified form of the neurotoxin botulinum toxin, like “I’ll try it once and see how I like it”.
The problem with botox use is that the effects wear off anywhere between four to six months after someone receives their initial injection. While using botox may not have the same impact on the brain that can cause a physical dependence, such as drugs or alcohol, the desire to maintain a more youthful appearance can cause psychological impacts in some individuals to feel a constantly growing need for more botox.
Botox has become popular due to minimal downtime after a non-surgical procedure that is able to target very specific “problem” areas. The accessibility and affordability of botox makes getting treatments fast and easy.
How can addiction to Botox develop?
It is easy to find videos on TikTok and Instagram that are titled “ Watch Me Get Addicted To Fillers.”, which highlights the concerning trend of individuals becoming obsessed with maintaining the “tweakments” that botox and fillers provide them.
Licensed psychologist Ann Kearney-Cooke explains that once people start getting alterations made to their appearance, they feel pressure to continue them in order to maintain their new, younger look. This cycle makes it difficult to stop using botox, in fear of what their physical appearance will become and how they will be perceived. While many individuals are able to maintain a healthy and controlled relationship with botox, or even receive botox for medical purposes, there are others who are at a higher risk of developing a botox dependence.
Signs of Botox addiction
Getting botox can become a snowball effect if it is not done in a healthy and maintainable way. Signs that your relationship with fillers has become problematic may include:
Feeling continually unsatisfied with physical appearance even after botox
Feeling a need for more botox procedures to feel physically attractive
Spending excessive time or money on botox
Obsessing over botox videos or procedures on social media
Going to different doctors to get more botox than recommended
Botox use negatively impacts mental or physical health
Prioritizing time and money dedicated to botox over other responsibilities (work, bills, etc.)
Treatment and support for options for Botox addiction
There are a few ways in which someone can help manage their botox use and help it not turn into an addictive hobby. One of the most important considerations when receiving botox is to make sure it is done by a licensed professional who can help you make educated decisions on the type and frequency of injections you may need. It can also be helpful to reduce time spent on social media where ads, filters, photoshop and celebrities can make individuals feel more pressure to get procedures or botox done.
If you feel your botox use has become compulsive, it is worth exploring professional help. In particular, specialized behavioral therapy with a licensed professional can be beneficial. Individuals may see positive results with certain psychotherapy methods, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help reduce symptoms of botox addiction. CBT can help someone understand the thoughts and feelings they have regarding their appearance and why that impacts their behavior, or desire to continuously get botox.
Birches Health offers individual therapy from the privacy of one's own home, using teletherapy to provide counseling with therapists who specialize in treating behavioral health challenges such as botox addiction. To get started with Birches you can:
Call 833-483-3838
Email help@bircheshealth.com
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